6 Ways Digital Influencers can improve sales

There comes a time in every savvy business owner’s life when they know they must step up their social media presence. It should already be a given that you are utilizing, at least one social media platform.

However, even those who are actively engaged in social media may begin to feel that their current promotional efforts just aren’t producing the results that they would like. If this is you, then it may be time for you to start working with
a digital influencer.

What is a Digital Influencer?

A digital influencer is anyone with authority in your brand’s niche. However, they can’t just be knowledgeable, they must also have the ability to reach a large audience. Practically anyone can be a digital influencer. Examples include celebrities,
journalists, social media sensations, bloggers and micro-influencers.

Why you should invest in working with influencers?

Your network determines your net worth. This is an old adage that many successful entrepreneurs swear by. When you align yourself with a digital influencer, you’re giving yourself major cool points. People love to associate with people or
things that are popular. The reality is that no matter how many times you toot your own horn, it won’t have the same effect as someone else doing the bragging for you. According to Nielson’s Global Trust and Advertising Report, 92% of
consumers trust the recommendation of products from friends and family over the actual brand itself. But if this isn’t convincing enough, here are some other reasons why you should consider working with an influencer. Build brand trust
– People don’t trust products, they trust other people. Influencers should be a top choice for promoting your brand because people already trust them. Grow your following – It never hurts to get more followers. When a popular influencer
gives your brand a shout out, your business is bound to get more followers as a result. Advertise for free or at a lower cost – Sure, you may not be able to afford a brand shout out from a celebrity, but you can cut a significant amount
of cost by collaborating with smaller accounts.

How to find the right influencer for your brand?

A simple Google search or social media search will put you in contact with a plethora of influencers. For example, if you’re looking for fashion bloggers, you can enter the keyword “top fashion blogs”, or search for #fashionblogger on social
media. Alternatively, you can use influencer marketing tools such as Traackr, Buzzsumo, TapInfluence, or Allkonnect Make sure you are selective about who you work with. You don’t want to use someone just because they have a huge following,
especially if their following is not relevant to your brand, or their users aren’t engaged. Be smart and strategic. You should thoroughly research them beforehand.

You may ask the following questions before choosing an influencer:

What are things they like to talk about?

Are their followers engaged?

Do their core values align with your brand?

What conversations do they start?

Does their social media presence match your brand’s voice and style?

You need to take all of these things into consideration before choosing your influencer.

6 tips for working with influencers

You may already have a few people in mind that you’d like to collaborate with. If so, now is the fun part where you and the influencer can get creative with advertising. Here’s 6 ideas to get you started.

Ad Space

Purchasing an advertisement from your influencer is quick, easy and effective. You can find examples of this in the fitness world, when fitness influencers promote brands of fitness clothing and protein powders. These posts are usually accompanied
with some sort of brand discount. To an influencer, it’s not just another protein powder. It’s organic and healthy for expectant mothers, She’s reaching multiple demographics. She can also give discounts , providing even more incentive
for her followers to try product she is promoting

Blog Post

Blog posts are an excellent way to market your product. There are many advantages to utilizing blog posting as a marketing option, but perhaps the biggest one is that it increases your visibility as a brand. If you team up with a credible
influencer who has a large audience, chances are your search rankings could go up and may show at the top search results using certain keywords. It’s an SEO dream. The influencer can cut right to the chase, and create a blog post review
about your product. Or they can do a full on tutorial, demonstrating step-by-step instructions of how your product or service works. According to Inc.com, posts with visual content garner 650% more engagement than posts without.

Social Media Takeover

Social media takeovers are becoming increasingly more and more popular, especially with the addition of Facebook Live and Snapchat. It’s also a great way to promote engagement with both loyal customers and new followers. Have an influencer
take over your account, posting pics and answering questions from your followers. A great takeover experience is fun and will leave a lasting impression on your followers.

Giveaways

Who doesn’t like to receive free stuff? Giveaways are always a fan favorite! If you want to maximize your exposure, team up with multiple influencers on the same day. Choose a product you’d like to generate some interest for, and have them
mention that they’ll be giving away the product for free to one lucky person. To be considered, users must use your branded hashtag or post about your brand. This is a cool way to introduce a new product, while generating social media
buzz. Twitter is a great place to do a giveaway for multiple reasons. Whenever people search for the hashtag #giveaway, they’ll see yours and instantly be directed to your page. Also, followers can like, respond and repost any tweet they
see that interests them, providing even more of an opportunity for brand visibility.

Reviews

Everywhere you look, you see vloggers and bloggers giving their opinion on products and services in a variety of industries. Throw your name in the ring by teaming up with an influencer, who specializes in your industry. You pay them to
review their product, and in return, they should give you a glowing review. Be sure to work with people who are genuine, and not just out looking to make a buck. You want influencers to speak naturally, and not sound like they’re reading
from a script. They can only do this, however, if they are genuinely excited to use your product.

Gift The Product

If you’re looking for exposure, you could always gift a product to an influencer in your niche. It’s important to note that since you aren’t paying this influencer, then you should have zero expectations about them mentioning your brand.
This is why it makes sense to target influencers who have actually used your product, or something similar, and posted about it before. If they really love your product, the likelihood that they’ll be raving about their free gift is ultra
high.

Conclusion

There’s one last point that needs to be addressed. While it’s imperative that you educate influencers about the product, you should take the time to build a genuine relationship with them, and allow influencers the space to be creative.
They bring a tremendous amount of value, and may have interesting ideas about how to advertise your product. Like any other relationship, they should be treated with respect. You want the experience to be mutually beneficial for all.